The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War #1) - Jon Skovron Page 0,36

woman to ground him. And a familial alliance with the Prozorova family would be invaluable, should the relationship with Commander Vittorio sour.

Irina beamed at her host. “Why, Inessa, what a splendid idea!”

13

Dead already, Lisitsa? That was quick.”

Sonya opened her eyes and found herself kneeling on the banks of the Eventide River, which she had not seen since her initiation as a Ranger of Marzanna. As before, the surrounding area was a drab, featureless gray shrouded in mist and possessing an unnerving stillness. It was neither dark nor light, but instead existed in a hazily unreal twilight somewhere between. It was not cold or hot. Or perhaps it was both at once, one rendering the other meaningless. Her keen sense of smell could not find purchase anywhere. Smell required air, and air was for the living.

She looked down into the dark, still waters of the Eventide River and saw in place of her own reflection the terrible, sublime beauty of the Lady Marzanna. The Lady’s skin was white as snow, while her eyes and hair were black as midnight. Her arms were long and thin, with hard jagged fingers like icicles. She wore a crown of bare, leafless branches on her brow that curved out to either side like antlers, and a flowing white robe that glowed as brightly as the moon.

“I had expected you to entertain me a bit longer,” Lady Marzanna continued in a voice as swift and cutting as a winter wind. “And getting sidetracked by your family problems? That was not what we had discussed at all. You are meant for a greater purpose.”

“I’ve failed you, my Lady.”

The Lady cocked her head to one side. “I didn’t say that. It’s far too early to say that. In fact, some things that you have set in motion, intentionally or not, look very promising. But they will need your continued involvement to come to fruition.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, my Lisitsa. I do not permit you to stay dead.”

Sonya was of course relieved. A Ranger of Marzanna did not fear death, but that didn’t mean they longed for it. Even without a family, she wanted to see more of the world, to feel the surge of her blood during the hunt, and taste the pleasures of life. But along with her relief, Sonya also felt a deep trepidation. The gifts of Lady Marzanna came at a great price.

“What will you take this time, my Lady?”

Lady Marzanna considered for a moment. “Your ears, I think.”

“Both of them?”

“Of course. What would be the point of one ear? But don’t worry. Better ones will replace them. Ones more… suited to you, Lisitsa.”

Sonya felt sick with dread, but her voice did not falter. “Thank you, my Lady.”

“You are most welcome, my child.”

Lady Marzanna’s long, spindly hands emerged from the black water of the Eventide River, but no ripples marred her beauty.

Sonya closed her eyes and steeled her heart. Hunters might strike with efficiency, thereby sparing their prey undo pain and suffering, but creatures of the wild did not take into account such things. And certainly Lady Marzanna, Goddess of Winter and Death, was not a creature that could ever be tamed.

The Lady did not move swiftly or with any compassion as she took hold of Sonya’s ears. Her grip was colder than ice and harder than metal. Sonya clenched her jaw and forced herself not to flinch as her ears slowly grew black and shriveled with frostbite. The sharp, chilling pain brought tears to her eyes, but she did not cry out.

Then, Lady Marzanna began to unhurriedly wrench Sonya’s ears off at the root, as if savoring the action. The pain flared up white hot so that guttural noises escaped Sonya’s throat, and her fingers dug into the icy mud of the riverbank, but she did not pull away.

The last threads of blackened flesh snapped free and the Lady drew the ravaged ears into the river. The raw stumps of Sonya’s ears did not bleed, but neither did the pain stop. In fact, it spread down into the rest of her body, a rolling shock wave of agony that reached all the way to her fingers and toes. It felt as though something essential, something even more important than blood, was being drawn from her veins.

Sonya screamed like an animal, a piercing ragged sound that burst from her throat.

“There, there, my adorable Lisitsa. It’s time to get more serious about your duties,” chided Lady Marzanna. “I expect better results by the next time we meet, or I